Disappearing Act
by Goma-Ryu
Summary: 2010 Summer Challenge. When a cadet is found dead it's up to NCIS to find out why, but one of them may get a little to close to the truth than they wanted. UPDATED CHAPTER 5 & 6.
1. The case

**A/N:** My very first NCIS: LA story. Tips and flames are welcomed. I have something like this writen for Boondock Saints but I want to see how well I do on this for NCIS: LA.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own NCIS: LA just this story.

* * *

It was mid afternoon on a hot summer day and almost everyone in Los Angeles was at the park enjoying the day with friends and family. A group of children, no more than eight years old, gather around a little girl as she covered her eyes with both hands and started counting as the group scattered and looked for some good hiding spots while parents sat back and watched. Once the little girl counted to fifty she uncovered her eyes and went about to see how many kids she could find. She found four so far and as she passed some trees, she saw movement and thought it was her friend so she ran into the trees to tag them out but when she moved a branch from a bush, she stopped dead in her tracks at what she saw beyond that. There, lying on the ground bound and gagged was a young man that looked beaten and clearly dead. The little girl did what every seven year old would do and that was screaming while running to the safety of her parents arms.

**NCIS Headquarters**

Kensi gave a sigh of relief as she felt the cool air of the A/C unit that just kicked on and thanked God that Hetty was understanding about the heat and needing to put the A/C on to keep everyone from killing each other. She walked over to her desk and just sat down when she heard Callen and Nate talking about something and from the sound of it, they were disagree on something that she wanted in on.

"I'm telling you Nate, that's not his name."

"Yes it is. I think I would remember his name since I've watched it when I was little."

"Yeah, so did I and I can tell you that you're wrong and I'm right."

Kensi just shook her head when she realized she wasn't going to be in on the discussion unless she put herself in so that's what she did. "What are you boys disagreeing about?"

"Callen here says that Dick Dastardly's dog is named Muttley and I say its Muggsy," Nate said, leaning against the wall while Callen took his seat at his desk.

"Well Nate, I'm gonna have to agree with Callen on this one," Kensi said with a smile. "The dog's name is Muttley."

"Are you guys sure?"

Just at that moment Sam arrived and everyone looked at him like he should give his option though he doesn't know what they're talking about.

"What?"

"Sam, you're going to be our last hope," Callen said, looking at his partner. "To actually be right and Nate being wrong, what is the name of Dick Dastardly s dog?"

"The one from Wacky Races?"

"Yeah."

"Muttley."

Callen put his hands in the air and looked at Nate with a smile. "Sorry Nate but it's three against one and the dogs name is Muttley."

Nate held his hands up in defeat and smiled before turning to get some coffee when a familiar high pitch whistle sounded through the building and looked up to see Eric smiling and waving them up to get upstairs and get ready for work. Once they were upstairs Hetty was already reading over some papers and looked up when they came in.

"Good morning everyone, I hope you all slept well," she said, nodding to Eric to get started. When the picture of the bound and gagged young man appeared on the screen, she looked at her agents. "This young man was found in the park yesterday afternoon by a seven year old girl playing hid and seek with friends. He was found bound, gagged, beaten, cut, and no way of identifying him."

"Okay, who is he and why does NCIS have to take this case?" Sam asked. He saw Eric pull up a picture of a young man in an army suit. That would explain it.

"The young man you just saw is this young man right here, Cadet Jason Ryan Williow. He is 23 years old and came home from Iraq a month ago. At first it was LAPD's case but when they pulled his dental records and saw he is military, they gave the case to us."

"We looked deeper into his history," Eric said, pulling up a picture of a teenage girl, "and found this. Amanda Willow, age sixteen, disappeared from the same park one year ago."

"I remember that," Callen said, looking at the Missing Person's ad. "LAPD had no leads and it ended up being a cold case."

"According to parents, Jason was distraught when he learned his little sister went missing and friends said he vowed to find her when he returned home," Eric said.

"Well, looking at the bruises and cuts I would say this man was tortured," Nate said. "The marks on his back could be from a whip, cuts could be anything, burn marks under his feet, on his arms, rope burns around his wrist and ankles, even looks like burn marks from a stun gun on his shoulder and stomach. The coroner found traces of sensitives in his system but none of that resulted in his death."

"Then what killed him?" Kensi asked.

"Looks like a simple blow to the head."

"Okay, so far the only thing we can do now is talk to the parents and hope that can give us something to go on," Callen said, looking at Sam before leaving the room.


	2. A lead?

**A/N: **Wanted to thank everyone that reviewed or just read my story. I havn't watched many NCIS: LA so I'm catching repeats. Question though, what is the room called where they go in the beginning when Eric calls them up? Always wondered that cause I know the Bull Pen is where they sit, right?

* * *

"It seems like yesterday I lost my daughter and now I lose my son," Mrs. Willow said, holding a picture of her family as she sat on the couch with her husband. She looked up at the two agents that arrived ten minutes ago wanting as much information as they could get on her son so they could find his killer. "It might sound horrible but I always thought I would lose my son to the war, not here at home where it s supposed to be safe."

"Do you know if Jason had anyone that wanted to harm him?" Sam asked.

The dad just shook his head no and held his wife tightly. "At least he never told us if there are. He was always a quiet boy so when he told us he signed up for the army I was shocked but I was proud. Amanda was so happy her brother that she made him that picture." Mr. Willow pointed a picture of a man in an army outfit saluting the American Flag. "Please, I want you to be honest with me. Did Jason suffer? When the police found out he was military and gave the case to you we never got answers."

"Honestly, Mr. Willow, it looked like he was tortured," Callen said, hating that he had to tell them the truth. These people deserved the truth but also that their son is finally at peace. "What happened when Jason learned the disappearance of Amanda?"

Mrs. Willow laughed a little dabbed her eye with a tissue. "He was upset. He told us and his friends at the base that when he got leave to come home he was going to spend every waking moment looking for Amanda until she was safe and home where she belonged. He loved his country but he loved his sister more."

"Did he make do with the promise?" Sam asked, hoping this might just be the break they needed. "If he did than we might be able to start there and re-trace his steps."

"Oh yes," Mr. Willow said. "He spent the first two days with us but then we only saw him for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He'd wake up at six in the morning and leave, come home, leave again, come home, leave. Same thing every day for three weeks. He would take his camera with him and spend half the night up and looking at pictures like he saw something but didn't know what it was. Then one day he never came home. That was two weeks ago."

Callen and Sam nodded and looked at the pictures on the wall while Mr. Willow got up and Mrs. Willow poured them some more lemonade. When Mr. Willow returned he handed Callen a digital camera and returned to his place by his wife s side. "That's the camera he used. You may keep it until you find what you're looking for. Please, find out who killed my son."

"We will Mr. Willow, but before we go, do mind if I ask where the last place Amanda was before she disappeared?" Callen asked.

"It was Sunnydale National Park, right by the river. She loved hanging out with her friends there," Mrs. Willow said.

"Thank you." Callen stood up and showed himself the door with Sam right behind him. When they got into the car Sam handed Callen the laptop and some cords before setting out. "So what do you think?"

"I'm not sure yet. I want to look at those pictures before we go to the park. There might be something on there that could help us."

* * *

"Okay, there were one hundred and fifty pictures on the camera," Eric said when Callen and Sam arrived upstairs. Kensi and Nate were looking at some already so the boys jumped right on in. "Half of them were of friends, family, him and Amanda."

"And the others?" Callen asked.

"Looks like when he was looking for Amanda," Kensi said. "Find anything from the parents?"

"They don't know much either but hopefully these pictures will give us some lead," Sam said. "Anything else on Jason?"

"Yeah, we can rule this murder as a random murder," Nate said. "There is nothing in his file or anything I can find that says he knows any military secrets that would get him killed." Nate pulled a picture of a park and looked at it. There were trees, kids, and the river in the background with a bridge. "What park is this?"

"Could be Sunnydale National Park. Mrs. Willow said Amanda loved going to the park by the river so I'm sure that's the first place Jason would look," Callen said.

"I don't know about you guys but I find it weird that the same park his sister disappeared a year ago is now his crime scene, plus," Kensi pulled up numerous pictures, "most of these pictures are of the park all facing the river and in this one is mostly the main target." She pointed to a small dock by the river where boats arrive and leave for fishing or for jet skies.

"Okay, so he was staking out the docks," Sam said. "He's military so something caught his eye that didn't fit in with everyday life."

"But what?" Callen asked.

"One way to find out." Sam grabbed Callen and Kensi's arms before leaving the room.

* * *

"I wonder what he thought was so important to keep taking pictures," Kensi said, walking on the dock by the river. She watched as jet skies flew pass her and people waving from their fishing boats. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary."

"Neither do I but that doesn't mean it's not there," Callen said, looking up when two men walked down the dock. "Excuse me; do you know who works here?"

"You want to rent a boat?" one asked, shaking Callens hand.

"Yeah. My friends and I had a hard week of work and nothing can relax us but a nice boat ride around the river and maybe some fishing."

"Then you came to the right place. Names Adam Markits and my friend here is Tommy Fargo. Come with us inside this little shack and we'll get papers and everything together."

Sam nodded to Kensi to stay behind and look around while Callen and he went inside to deal with the friends. He stepped inside the shack and smiled at the small office table, three chairs, a small plant, and pictures of boats on the wall. "Nice little place you have here."

"Yeah, took us a year but we finally got permission to keep this shack and make our dreams come true. So, one boat for how many days?" Adam asked, pulling out papers.

"Oh, just a couple of hours," Callen said, sitting down. "We're actually hoping to start first thing tomorrow morning until, what? About noon?" he asked Sam.

"Yeah. I think that should work. Think that's possible?"

"Oh of course. Tomorrow around six in the morning to noon but I will warn you, we need a license first thing and hold it until you get back. What will the name be under so we can make some reservations?"

"Lawton," Callen spoke up before Sam could give his name. "Matt Lawton."

"Very well Mr. Lawton. First thing tomorrow you and your friends will be on the river enjoying the sun rise." Adam looked up when Tommy walked in and whispered in his ear before going out the back door that lead to another dock. "I'm sorry gentlemen, but we're going to have to end this a little early. Some important matters came up that needs my attention but we will see you tomorrow?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Callen said, shaking Adam's hand before leaving. As he walked out the door he saw two black cars pull up near the other side of the dock and Tommy talking to the driver of one of the cars.

"So, do we have a boat?" Kensi asked, walking up to the two but not taking her eye off the black cars. "Just so you know I already took pictures of them and sent them to Eric."

"Good. I hope you enjoy putting worms on fishing hooks because we have a date with the fish at six in the morning," Callen said, walking to Sam's car.


	3. Beats working in an office

"Ten dollars."

"I don't think so."

"Come on. Just one and you get ten dollars."

"I'm not eating that, G."

"It's only a worm."

"I'm not eating a worm for ten dollars."

"Twenty."

Kensi just sighed as she leaned back in the boat and shook her head in amusement at her partners. "When you boys are ready to be adults again, we have a job to do," she said, reminded them as she showed them some files Eric gave them yesterday when they returned to the office. "Eric was able to get LAPD's reports on Amanda's case."

"Anything that can help us?" Sam asked, placing a worm on his hook and casting it out into the water.

"Not that I can see. She disappeared at Sunnydale National Park June 28th; parents reported her missing the next day. No evidence that could connect anyone, no ransom, no suspects, no nothing. LAPD even talked to Adam and Tommy but they just said they remembered a teenager would walk along the water skipping stones everyday."

Callen stared out into the water while Kensi and Sam continued to talk. There was something that kept bothering him about this case since they got it but he's never had a chance to think of it until now while they were relaxing on the water. He knew it had something to do with Sunnydale National Park but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it to see who it was and saw Eric's name flash on the phone.

"Looks like Eric might have found something."

"Or just wants to tell us we better invite him on the next fishing trip," Kensi said when Callen flipped his cell open and hit speaker phone.

"Hey guys. How's work?"

"Hard actually," Sam replied. "These fish don't want to seem to bite. What did you get?"

"I looked at those pictures of the vans Kensi took yesterday and I found the same vans in Jason's pictures. I've tried to blow the pictures up to get a better look but Jason was to far to get a license plate number but Kensi's pictures came up clear and we're running the plates now."

"Alright, keep us update," Callen said.

"Will do, and guys? Can I come with you next time?"

"We'll think about it," Callen said with a laugh as he closed his cell. He felt Kensi jump a little next to him and saw her reach for her pole.

"Hey guys, I think I got a bite." She reeled her fish in and when she pulled it out of the water she couldn't believe how big it was. It had to be at least eight inches long. She pulled it all the way into the boat while Callen and Sam got a cooler to put it in. "My first time catching a fish." She then looked down at the flopping fish and then up at Sam with a smile. "Hey Sam?"

"Yeah."

"Ten dollars to eat the fish as is."

Sam just glared at her before he grabbed the fish, took the hook out, and threw it right back into the water. "Ten dollars you can't get it back."

* * *

"I can't believe you threw my fish back into the water," Kensi complained. She had been mopping for the last three hours they were on the water and now while they were waiting for Adam to give "Mr. Lawton" back his license.

"How big of a fish?" Tommy asked from his seat at the desk.

"At least eight inches," she said, holding her hands up to show him, "and he just had to go and throw it back in the water."

"Because you bet me to eat it raw. That's nasty," Sam fought back.

"You didn't throw Matt's worms out when he bet you to eat them," she fought back, pointing at Callen who was playing with his cell phone.

"Hey, don't get me in the middle of this," he said, holding his hands up in defense. "I just bet him to eat one worm, not a nasty fish that just came up out of the water." He reached out when Adam returned with his license and put it back in his wallet.

"Well, I'm glad you guys had a great time and I hope you come back again," Adam said, smiling as Kensi and Sam walked out of the shack still arguing over the fish.

"We will thank you." Callen left the shack and met up with his friends by Sam's car before getting into the passengers seat. He looked over and saw Sam and Kensi both looking at him. "What?"

"Don't play dumb with us, G. You took their pictures," Sam said, turning the car on and heading out. "Why?"

"There's just something about this case that I can't put my finger on."

The car ride was quiet except for the quiet music on the radio and when they pulled into the parking lot of NCIS headquarters, they went straight upstairs to see what Eric found for them. Walking in, Eric just looked at them and put up a picture of a teen boy. "The license plate number I ran came up as belonging to George McKinney. Age twenty five, been arrested for stealing some video games and that's about it."

"Where is he now?" Callen asked.

"We don't know. When I pulled his name up, this is what I got." Eric pulled up a Missing Person's ad. "He's been missing for two years and guess where he was last seen?"

"Sunnydale National Park. I knew there was something about that park and now I remember. Over the past four years, people have been disappearing from the park and no one has heard from them again."

"Correct again. I asked LAPD to give me some of their missing persons report and so far only fourteen people out of all their missing person's reports disappeared from Sunnydale National Park."

"Then how did those people in the vans get a hold of his license plate?" Sam asked. He looked up when Hetty came in with the face that read "I-have-more-information".

"I just got off the phone with Mrs. Willow. It seems that in her state of distress, she forgot to mention something to you that could be helpful to our investigation."

"Understandable. What is it?" Callen asked.

"She said that Amanda liked to take a boat out on the river when the weather was nice."


	4. And now for the truth

**A/N:** Just to be on the safe side, as far as I know there is no Toys Palace in Florida and if there is: A) I'm really good and B) do not own nor do they have any part in this.

* * *

"Okay, so we now know Amanda would rent a boat from Adam and Tommy and LAPD has already talked to them about the case," Kensi said, sitting at her desk across from Sam with Callen next to her. "So we look at George McKinney's file and LAPD had talked to Adam and Tommy on his case as well."

Sam crossed off the names he wrote down that had LAPD asking Adam and Tommy questions regarding the case. "Callen looked into these two and found Adam Tommy mentioned, so these four out of fourteen."

"Make that eight out of fourteen," Nate said, laying four files on Sam's desk. "These four have Adam and Tommy saying they've seen them at the park but nothing else."

Callen threw two more files on his desk and saw Sam cross off the names he had without even asking. While they were waiting for Eric to run face recognition on Adam and Tommy they grabbed Nate and had him help them look through LAPD's missing persons report, and so far Adam and Tommy have been in half of them. He looked up when Kensi threw the last three files and gave them the look before getting up. "So all fourteen disappeared at the park and LAPD interviewed Adam and Tommy for all the cases. All we have to do now is see if anyone of these victims have rented boats and if so, then we caught Adam and Tommy in a lie."

"That's right," Sam said. "Adam said it took them a year to get the shack and these cases go back four years. Adam and Tommy might have been in the park at the time but did they have any contact with these people?"

"You would think LAPD would do a background check on people they interview so they know if she should believe them or not," Kensi said, knowing that would have made their case much harder but if this was going where she saw it going, Adam and Tommy lied to them and what's to say they didn't lie to the cops?

"Because if they had done background checks on Adam and Tommy, they wouldn't have found anything," Eric said, walking up to their desks.

"I take it you didn't either?" Nate asked.

"I just said background check on Adam and Tommy," Eric said, turning on the small computer screen that stood next to Sam's desk so everyone could see. "I searched through LAPD and all of California police stations in hopes of getting a hit on Adam and Tommy but nothing came up, not even a speeding ticket."

"So if LAPD did look them up, they wouldn't have found anything," Kensi said, repeating Eric but she got a look from him that meant he knows something they don't.

"That's right, but we are not LAPD. So I started to do a national search and prayed they got some kind of speeding ticket in another state and I got a hit. Well, a hit on their faces but not their names." He pulled up two mug shots and zoomed in so they could all get a better look. "The one on the right is Lewis Bourdomig, a.k.a Adam Markits. The one on the left is Brian VanBrinkelman, a.k.a Tommy Fargo. Both were arrested in 1995 for the kidnapping of six year old Emily Jordan and held her for ransom of $2,000. Police arrested them when they went to get the money and the little girl was returned to her parents. Now, they got out early because of budget cuts and the jail was getting too full."

"Anything current on them? Sam asked.

"Yeah. They actually have active warrants out for their arrest. Six years ago they arrived in a state and soon the police were getting calls about their children missing, all between ages thirteen and twenty eight with the oldest being thirty-one, all these people have been missing for either a year or two when police finally caught up with these two and found out they were part of human trafficking."

"Human trafficking? Are you serious?" Kensi asked, suddenly feeling sick.

"Yes. They were arrested but while the police where searching the area where they found them, Lewis and Brain did their own disappearing act and escaped the police car and they haven't been caught since."

"So where did this all take place?" Sam asked.

Eric zoomed out of the pictures and looked at the group. "Their warrants are from Washington D.C."

"Any connection to NCIS?" Callen asked, wanting to make sure his friends didn't need any help.

"Not that we found. Hetty is on the phone with the police there and she said she would keep us updated, but so far this is just a regular case that we got pulled into."

"What about the cars?"

"I was able to pull this video from LAX two days ago. It's from the pick-up/drop-off area of the airport outside and we don't see the driver but we do see someone get in." Eric waited for the person to exit the airport before pausing it when he saw a man in his mid thirties. "This fine, well groomed man you see is actually the CEO of Toys Palace in Florida. He arrived by himself but when he left yesterday he wasn't alone." Eric fast forwarded before pausing it again when the black cars showed up and the man got out of the car with a young woman.

Nate looked at the young girl, and though he couldn't see her face he knew exactly what he was looking at. "Because the hood of her jacket is hiding her face I can't tell her facial expression but judging by the way she's holding her arms close to her body, limping a little, and head kept down, I would say she's going with him against her will and is injured."

"How did D.C know about them?" Callen asked.

"I believe I can answer that, Mr. Callen," Hetty said, joining the group. "I got off the phone with Chief Wastworth and he said their airport has seen rather important people go through their airport. A CEO, some high rollers from Vegas, a Mayer, even a General at a nearby army base camp. Airport security kept close eyes on them and noticed they would arrive alone but leave with someone much too young and thus started the search. I already called LAX to keep an eye out for important people that normally don't travel LAX alone and leave with someone younger than them."

"So I guess all that's left is to get Lewis and Brain to tell us where these kids are," Kensi said.

"There's only one person that can get us that information," Callen said.

"And who's that?"

"Mr. Lawton, CEO of Lawton Enterprise of course."


	5. Cover blown

"Eric, are you sure nothing is going to interfere with G's earwig?" Sam asked, for the tenth time within five minutes, but you would too if you had to send your partner into a shack with two sick guys that abuse and sell innocent people to wealthy people for their own sick pleasure.

_"Sam, so far nothing is going to happen unless those two can smell a cop out, Callen is pretty safe. I listened to the call and Lewis seemed to buy Callens story so it shouldn't be too long,"_ came Eric's voice, _"just wait for either Callen or I to give you the signal."_

Sam sighed and leaned back against a large rock but still in eye sight of the shack. He never likes Callen going undercover by himself but he was the only one who could get close to those guys. Actually, he should say Mr. Lawton can get close. He looked up and cursed the sun as it was making his job harder as the minutes went and to make it better, they were under a heat advisory the rest of the week. He shifted and saw on the ground and listened as Callen and Lewis were beginning the trade.

"So, Mr. Lawton, you said on the phone you've heard of me and what I do from Mr. Winston of Toy Palace," Lewis said, sitting across from Callen with his hands folded on the desk.

"That's correct. We go back some time and I remember talking to him about how my wife is always gone and never home with me, on top of a stressful job at Lawton Enterprise, that I needed some way of releasing everything."

"And he told you about us?"

"Oh yeah. Actually I got off the phone with him a few hours ago and he told me he got something to keep him entertained while his wife, too, was gone."

"Oh yes, he purchased a lovely young thing you can say," Lewis said with a laugh. "I can tell you're also nervous so this must be your first purchase. Here are some pictures of some we already have. These slaves have been trained pretty well and will listen to anything you say without so much of a sound. I recommend this little animal. Her name is Shannon Lovecrafield. She's about seventeen now and has been training with us for nearly two years. She's very obedient, pretty smile, doesn't cry as much as the others, and a tough girl that will fight back but knows when to stop."

"You take pride in her."

"I take pride in all my slaves, Mr. Lawton. Of course, if you fancy a young boy to keep you company this one is nice. His name is Jack Winters. He's twenty one and has a very talented mouth. He does need some work but he's pretty obedient."

"Wow. All these young ones and you expect me to pick one," Callen said, trying his best to hide his disgust. "Would it be possible to see them in person? Mr. Winston said pictures are good but you can pick better when you see them up close."

"Of course Mr. Lawton. Let us go and get the boat ready. Just sit back and we should be back within five minutes."

Lewis and Brain walked out the backdoor and headed for a boat that was already in the water and tied down. While they were outside, Callen got up and opened the drawers he saw Lewis get into and pulled out stacks of paper with copies of driver license. He took his phone out and snapped as many as he could until he found Amanda's driver's license, along with George, the fourteen missing people they read files on at the office, and his own picture. So they make copies of driver license and get as much information as they could off that. He just put his phone in his pocket when he heard the door open and then something hard hit him in the back of the head, sending him to the ground. Right before he blackout he heard someone call him by his name. Not his fake name, but by G Callen.

* * *

Sam was sweating and he was getting agitated with waiting but he knew that this was the important part of the job coming up. Callen was able to get them to take him to where they were holding all the missing people and once they find the place, then it was only a matter of time before these two sicko's get behind bars. He wiped his forehead and looked back at the shack and was surprised to see Brian walking back, gun out and open the door. Through the earwig he heard something hitting the floor and someone calling Callen's name. This was not good.

"Eric, get me back up now. I think Callen's cover is blown." Sam pulled his gun out and ran down the hill and just has he opened the door to the shack, he saw no one but a cell phone on the floor. Picking it up, he realized it was Callen's and then he heard the sound of a speed boat engine starting up. Getting to his feet, he ran out the back door and watched as a boat carrying Lewis, Brian, and no doubt Callen, started moving at a fast pace. He knew he had to catch up so he spotted another speed boat and jumped in just as Kensi and LAPD arrived.

"Sam!"

"They took G. I got to catch up with them!"

Kensi nodded and jumped into the boat just as Sam got it start and soon they were flying as fast as they could through the waters to catch up with the other speed boat. "Sam, what happened? Callens' cover should've worked."

"I don't know. Everything was going fine, he asked to see the slaves, and then Brian walks in with a gun and now we're trying to find these guys. I don't know how they could know G was a cop but they knew his name. His real name."

"Maybe someone saw us here and wanted to warn them and then Callen calls for a fake meeting to get a slave?"

"Could be, but there's something going on here." Sam looked up and saw the speed boat he needed and got his boat to go faster. There was no way he was going to lose these guys with his partner but it seems they had a bigger head start so they were further than them. He followed them go around a bend and the moment his boat rounded the bend he saw no one. No boat, no Lewis, no Brian, and no Callen. "Where the hell did they go?"

"They couldn't have gotten that far. We were only a few minutes behind them so we should still be able to see them," Kensi said, dumbfounded that they somehow lost a boat in open water.

_"Did you guys get Callen?"_ Nate asked through their earwigs.

"No Nate. Somehow, they pulled a disappearing act and now we lost track of them," Same said, hitting his fist on the boat.

_"Well, there is good news. It seems while you guys were on the water, one of the black cars pulled up and LAPD arrested the driver on the spot when he tried taking off."_

"Good. I want to have a talk with him when we get back. Tell LAPD to take him to the boat house. Kensi and I are coming in now." Sam turned the boat around and few across the waters to get back to land and back to the boat house because one way or another, he was getting his partner back and those two sicko's were going to pay for what they've done.


	6. Who will be going undercover?

**A/N -Warning:** I'm gonna be on the safe side and rate this chapter as **M** for very little sexual talk. Nothing graphic but just being on the safe side.

* * *

Sam glared at the TV as he watched the young boy on the screen fidget in his seat. He thought he would let the guy sit for awhile before going in there but he also wanted to get his head cleared because the last thing he needed was to lose it and let this guy use his emotions against him. Hetty, Kensi, and Nate were watching as well and when Sam finally nodded, Kensi followed him into the room and Nate sat down with his pad and started making notes while Hetty sat watched.

"Mind telling me where the hell I am?" the boy asked when he saw a man and woman walk into the room he was forced to stay in.

"For now, you're safe but how long depends on you," Kensi said, sitting down across from the guy while Sam stood. She set a file down on the table and opened it up. "It says here your name is Aaron Spindel, you're from Texas, moved here two years ago with your mother and six sisters, wow. You the oldest?"

"Yeah. Dad left us after Melissa was born. Said he couldn't handle a houseful of crying brats and that wasn't what he married my mother for."

"How old were you?" Sam asked.

"Thirteen. We moved here when Melissa was two."

"Got a job to help support your family?"

"Yes."

"Is this the same job?" Kensi asked.

"No. I worked at fast food, gas stations, any place that would hire me."

"When did all that change? When did you start working for sick people like Lewis and Brian?" Sam finally sat down and looked at the man before him.

"When my mother got sick. I wasn't making much money and I still have my family to support. I met Lewis at one of the jobs I was at and he said he needed someone to drive his clients to and from the airport, to him, and just small runs but he said he would pay me at least twenty dollars an hour and I would work from early in the morning to who knows when. It depended on when flights came in and how long his clients were staying."

"Did you know what they were doing?"

"Not at the time. Then one day, Brian said he want to show me something. Someone he wanted to keep as his own. So I followed him, he took me on the river. We were traveling for at least twenty minutes and we came to a building that looked like something from a horror movie. The building was old, boarded up, vines covered most of the bricks. Even outside I could hear yelling and screaming. Inside was worst."

"Okay, I'll make you a deal," Kensi said, knowing this boy was going to be willing to cooperate with them. "You give us all the details and we can try to see if we can get some of your charges dropped. Not all, but enough to where you would only have to spend at least four to five years in jail. Sound fair?"

"Yeah. Who are you guys anyway?"

"NCIS," Sam said. It seemed that he didn't need to be so tough on this kid after all. From the looks of it, he was happy to tell them. "So Brian showed you where they were keeping all these people. Why didn't you tell the police?"

"Because Brian said if I told anyone, he would take my sisters and I wouldn't see them again. He would make sure they were sold to the worst client they've ever had."

"Well, you tell us everything, we will put protection on you and your family until all this blows over," Kensi said.

"Deal."

"Okay. Tell us everything."

"The place was dirty and the smell of blood was everywhere. It actually looked like an old prison now that I think about it. Three floors, cells on every floor lined up, people yelling, crying, and begging me to help them. They all looked like zombies with their skins half off from where they would whip them, some had bandages over their heads, arms, legs, some where chained some where not. In the middle of the building they would chain them down to the floor and give them commands. If they didn't do what they were told it was the whip, sometimes they would get stabbed but not too deep, some would be hanging from a chain above candles and their feet would get burned."

"So they were torturing them?"

"Yeah, but Brian said they were training them for when their masters come to get them. Brian then grabbed this girl from her cell and dragged her to the middle of the floor, chaining her on her back. He ripped her clothes and took his off too. He sat on her chest and commanded her to open her mouth and suck him but when she wouldn't he slapped her until she opened her mouth to cry and pushed himself in. I almost laughed but she bit him. Bit him hard enough to make him bleed. He got off her, holding himself to make it stop bleeding and just glared at her. He walked over to a table and picked up a hot poker and walked back to sit back down on her chest. He placed it on her face and I could hear her skin sizzling and her screams were worst than I've ever heard. He was now teaching her not to bite down. Every time she would bite down, he would reheat the poker and burn her again and again until she learned. After two hours of getting her face, breast, thighs, waist, and head burned she finally learned and didn't bite down."

"They do that to everyone?"

"From what Brian told me, yeah. Every day and every night they would rape, beat, and torture them."

"Okay. What about their clients?"

"Rich people who have all the money in the world and spend almost a grand on a slave to keep for their very own. They would tell me what they do, some have families with kids, and here they are buying innocent people for pleasure. One guy's whole family was into this. His wife had a slave, his daughter one, and his son one. On the way to the airport, they would tell their slaves what they would be doing to them every night. One guy said he was going to put the boy in a collar and leash, he would sleep naked on the floor of his bedroom and in the morning he would jump up on the bed and if he sucked him good enough he would get his breakfast, which would be in a dog bowl and he would have to eat like a dog. Then he would take him on walks around the backyard and he would have to use the bathroom outside. After that he would rape him over and over until he was satisfied. I swear if Brian wasn't serious about taking my sisters I would've told someone, you have to believe me!"

"We do. Do you know where this place is?"

"Yeah. It's about an hour from the shack. You go round a bend and make a sharp right where a smaller river is covered by trees and vines that it's hard to see it but its there and that takes you to where you need to go."

"What were you doing at the shack? You didn't have any clients and I'm sure you're not supposed to be there without clients."

"That's true but I was on my way to tell Lewis that Mr. Runsbond had cancelled his appointment to get his daughter a birthday present. He was supposed to be here tomorrow but his daughter got sick and wouldn't make it until next week."

"How does Lewis know his clients?"

"He looks them up. There's a private website and he goes to some underground clubs to get his business out and when you ask to purchase a slave, you give him your name and picture, then he looks them up to see if they are telling him the truth. He once had an undercover cop so once he found out about that, he started buying all this high-tech stuff. He even has something like a face recognition thing that will show a picture if you're picture is somewhere else, like on websites, newspapers, passports, and stuff like that."

_"That could be how they knew Callen was a cop,"_ Nate said into their earwigs. _"His face was in the newspaper when he got shot and on the news." _

"So Lewis doesn't know who these guys are or what they look like except from a photo?" Sam asked, thinking they finally got a good cover to get in that place and get Callen and everyone else.

"That's right. He gives me details of the clients and I wait until I see them. No photo's incase cops are around and he doesn't want his clients to get caught."

"What does Mr. Runsbond look like?"

Aaron reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "He's about 5'6", gray hair could be white, middle age, slim, and he suppose to dress in a grey suit. That's about it. No tattoos, but he will be with his daughter and her boyfriend."

"What about the kid and boyfriend?"

"No discription but I hear she's very pretty and can catch the eye. Why do you need to know?"

"We just need to know. Look, you hungry? Maybe some McDonald's or Wendy's?" Kensi asked.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"Okay. We'll get you food and be right back." She stood up and followed Sam out. She saw Hetty getting up and Nate handing her his notes. "Well?"

"This could be hard. If what this young man said is true and Lewis knows Callen is a cop, then he's going to be extra careful. If we want to find this place, we need to get someone in there."

"Who? Lewis and Brian know who we are and ten to one if they knew Callens a cop, they knew we are too," Sam said, "plus Eric and Nate don't fit the description."

"Well, these are just close guessing descriptions," Nate said. "About this height, could be white, however we don't have anyone to fit these close descriptions and no one in LAPD can pass for a daughter if she's suppose to catch your eye."

"You leave all that to me," Hetty said with a smile. "I will have Eric give me as much information as he can on Mr. Runsbond and Sam, tell young Mr. Spindel he will be picking up his client tomorrow at the airport as plan to meet with Lewis and Brian." With that, she left the boat house to go make some calls.


End file.
